Rebecca Taylor MEP backs EU plans to help small businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber

Lib Dem Euro-MP for Yorkshire and the Humber, Rebecca Taylor, today backed measures designed to help support small to medium sized businesses in the region. Rebecca backed measures in the European Parliament that will help improve the access to finance for small and medium sized businesses.

There are nearly 5 million small to medium sized businesses in the UK and over 99% of firms employ fewer the 49 members of staff. Despite the size of the small to medium sector in the UK, many companies struggle to get hold of funds through traditional routes, such as borrowing from banks and other financial institutions.

Rebecca Taylor MEP is calling on banks and other financial institutions to do more to support small to medium sized businesses by lending to them. Rebecca also believes more can be done to support them. Commenting on the proposals Rebecca said,

“These small companies are vital for the economic future of the UK. They are the organisations that have great potential to create new jobs in the region if they are given the necessary support. I want to make sure every effort is made to help them. Many small businesses face problems accessing finance, even when they have a good track record and credit history, and this problem needs to be tackled. This means banks need to make further efforts to lend to viable small businesses and other steps need to be taken. For example, alternative funding sources, such as peer-to-peer lending and support from ‘business angels’ can be attractive options for small and medium sized businesses and more can be done to develop and support such funding sources.

The Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament support the ALDE ‘Boost’ campaign that is aimed at supporting small to medium sized businesses across the EU.